


Midnight Tea Parties

by Ryuchu



Category: Tales of Xillia
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-22
Updated: 2018-10-22
Packaged: 2019-08-05 19:43:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16373858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ryuchu/pseuds/Ryuchu
Summary: Ellen, Sonia, their children, and a midnight tea party.





	Midnight Tea Parties

**Author's Note:**

> This is a piece from a few years ago that I posted on Tumblr, but I still rather like it, so I figured I could brush it off and post it here. Plus, we can always use more NPC appreciation at all times in our lives.

Ellen absentmindedly brushed her bangs from her eyes as she sat back in her chair with a quiet sigh.

She had been trying to deny it for a while now, but the quiet pangs of a growing headache would no longer allow her to work in peace. Slowly and laborious, she stretched her back, reveling in each quiet pop as her spine corrected itself. It had been a long day.

Stifling a yawn, she returned to the patient charts she had been updating. Another group of gem hunting hopefuls had arrived in town and, despite the repeated warnings of multiple townspeople, had set off for the Old Vicalle Mines, hoping to strike it rich. In the end, the only things they found were powerful monsters, injuries, and a trip to the Mathis Clinic.

Although her and Derrick had been vaguely prepared for the possibility that the foolhardy group would be returning with some cuts and bruises that needed to be patched up, they hadn’t expected the gem hunters to return half-dead, beaten, and bloodied. It was her duty as a doctor to treat any and all patients, but with each stitch sown and gash bandaged, a maternal voice at the back of her mind couldn’t help chiming in, ‘if you had only listened none of this would have happened’.

Of course, maybe she didn’t have any right to have a maternal voice.

“Jude…” She said her son’s name aloud, more of a sigh than anything.

She had just started making lunch for Jude when the first hunters returned. Her seven-year-old son had been sitting at the table, excitedly chattering about one of the village boys he had recently befriended. Ellen found herself smiling. It was rare for Jude to be this talkative. However, the moment was shattered when one of their two nurses burst into the kitchen, words tumbling from her mouth as she quickly explained that a trio of gem hunters had just returned, all in serious condition.

There was only a moment of hesitation as Ellen’s eyes flickered to Jude. She watched as a wide array of emotions passed over his face in rapid succession – surprise, disappointment, sadness, resignation – only for all of them to be washed away with a wavering smile. Before Ellen had a chance to say anything, he jumped from his chair and headed down the hallway.

“I’m gonna go see what Leia’s doing!” He called as he went, his voice high-strung and obviously hiding the beginning of tears that were already welling at the corner of his eyes.

As Ellen watched him go, her words caught painfully in her throat, the nurse who had interrupted them placed a consoling hand on her shoulder, her expression an apologetic smile. Ellen returned the gesture before quickly changing her mindset to a more serious one as she asked for further details of their newly acquired patients.

The rest of the afternoon had passed in a blur as more and more of the mining party came back. Patients were shuffled from beds as those with more serious injuries arrived. Honestly, it was all such a hectic flurry of activity that Ellen didn’t even have time to think; she had been acting on instinct and adrenaline alone. Now that the storm had passed, the exhaustion of the day had caught up with her. Yet even though she wanted to crawl into bed and let the healing power of sleep claim her, there was something more important than that.

Wearily, she stood from her desk and cast a glance out the window. It was pitch-black outside, more than likely around midnight if her sense of time was anything to go on. Jude had probably gone to bed hours ago…

But as she moved from the record’s room, she didn’t head to Jude’s room.

The trip to the Leronde Lodge was a quick one, giving Ellen only enough time to collect a few of her scattered thoughts. How many times this month had a busy day at the clinic required her to rely on the kindness of Sonia to look after her son? With a wry smile, she admitted to herself that the exact number didn’t mean much; the fact of the matter was that it was too many.

Just as she was about to open the door of the lodge, it swung open from the inside, revealing Sonia Rolando. The smile she wore on her face told Ellen that she had been expecting her to show up any time now. Without speaking, Sonia motioned for Ellen to follow her to the lodge’s small bar where a pot of tea and two cups sat waiting for them. Ellen couldn’t help but give a smile of her own – their midnight tea parties had become a bit of a ritual for both women.

“The tea might be a little cold,” Sonia warned as she took her seat, pouring Ellen a cup, “You ended up working later than usual tonight.”

“I’m sure it will be just as wonderful lukewarm as it is hot,” Ellen said, gratefully accepting, “And whatever those miners ran into must have been quite the monster; several of them were on the verge of death.”

“They deserved it too,” Sonia said pointedly as she poured her own cup, “The whole town was trying to talk them out of it, but of course they know better than all us folks who have been living here our whole lives. Sure, just run off into the mines that don’t have anything but monsters left in them. Sounds like a great idea.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter how stupid their actions are. It’s my duty as a doctor to help them.”

“Yeah, I know. Doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to grumble about it a bit since you’re not willing to do it yourself.”

Ellen couldn’t help a smile from flitting to her lips. She had known Sonia for years and she hadn’t lost a drop of her ferocious spirit. For several minutes, both women settled into a comfortable and familiar silence, each lost in their respective thoughts. The stillness of the night and the rich, herbal tea helped to sooth Ellen’s headache and shrug off some of the stress of the day. She allowed the silence to drag on for a moment longer before she gingerly set her teacup down. Nervously, she began to run her finger along the lip of the half-filled cup.

“…How was Jude today?”

Although Ellen had asked this question countless times at similar midnight tea parties, she couldn’t stop fretting every time their conversation finally settled on this topic. She knew the busy work schedule she and her husband maintained made it difficult to properly nurture their son in the way she had read about in all the parenting books; every time she cut off mid-conversation with her son because of a crisis in the clinic was etched into her memory like a burning brand. He was growing up and she was missing it.

Talking to Sonia like this, receiving updates only after the fact, were a small consolation and she knew it. However, even if it had to come from a second-hand source, she wanted to know how her son was doing. She stared intently at her teacup, waiting for Sonia’s response. There was another moment of heavy silence as Sonia took a sip of her own tea.

“Well, when he first showed up he was bawling like crazy.”

Ellen couldn’t help but give an involuntary wince. Sonia’s tendency to not mince words in the slightest could be both a blessing and a curse.

“He cheered up quick enough though, Leia saw to that,” Sonia added, a hint of pride coloring her words at the mention of her own daughter, “They were arguing within the hour. Don’t worry though, I ended it before they could get into any real trouble.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Ellen replied with honest relief in her voice, “He was so chatty earlier today, so I’m glad that his good mood wasn’t entirely ruined.”

“Kids are made of stronger stuff than you might expect. They always have a way of bouncing back from stuff.”

Ellen nodded her head in agreement, but didn’t say anything further. She knew they were dancing around the issue that was truly bothering her. Taking a shaky breath, she tore her eyes away from her teacup to look at Sonia.

“And has he mentioned anything about the bullying?”

Sonia’s expression stormed over as her mouth creased into a frown.

“Nothing. Not a peep.”

Ellen turned away again, biting her lip. Although Jude hadn’t said anything, it was obvious from the cuts and bruises he wore home on a weekly basis that there was something going on. She had hoped that if her son wasn’t going to open up to her, at least he might open up to Sonia. Unfortunately though, it seemed that Jude was determined to keep this a secret.

“Y’know,” Sonia spoke up, breaking Ellen’s train of thought, “If you wanted me to, I could start training him.”

“Training?” Ellen echoed in confusion.

“Yeah. In martial arts. I’ve been planning for Leia to start some training of her own, so it wouldn’t be any trouble to add Jude into the mix. Heck, might even be fun for the two of them.”

Quietly, Ellen mulled the idea over in her mind. It would be comforting to know that her son was able to protect himself if trouble should ever arise. However, she couldn’t help the nagging feeling that she was once again asking Sonia to raise her son in her place.

“If it’s really not a problem and you think it would help…” She began hesitantly.

“Of course! You just give me a couple of months and the kids will be ready to wrestle boars with their bare hands.”

“My, that would be quite the sight, now wouldn’t it!”

Both women fell into fits of laughter at the mental image of tiny Jude and Leia triumphantly pinning a boar to the ground. Ellen felt her worries dissipate slightly in the face of her bubbling laughter. As the night wore on, they discussed any number of topics from the mundane to the philosophical until Ellen couldn’t contain her exhaustion. Ellen failed to stile yet another yawn, which Sonia took as her cue to begin tidying up.

“Looks like it’s that time again,” Sonia said as she busied herself, “He’s in the usual spot.”

Ellen gave a nod of thanks before making her way to the back rooms of the Leronde Lodge where the Rolando’s had their personal rooms. Moving quietly so as to not wake anyone, she tiptoed her way to Leia’s room and slid the door open as silently as possible. As she entered into the young girl’s room and her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she smiled to herself.

Leia was lying in her bed, limbs akimbo due to her tossing and turning. Every once in a while, she would mumble in her sleep and toss again, her limbs somehow splayed even further than before. Jude, on the other hand, was nestled in a futon on the other side of the room, blankets tucked tightly and neatly around him like a cocoon. She made her way to his futon and brushed a few stray bangs from his forehead – he was going to need a haircut soon. Gently, she leaned down and placed a kiss on her son’s forehead.

“Goodnight, Jude. I love you so much.”


End file.
